To Authors in Search of a Publisher

We May be Interested in Publishing Your Book, but First, You Need to Answer These Questions

Congratulations! You have an idea for your new book. Perhaps you have started writing it, or even have completed a rough draft. Now you want to find a publisher so you can see your very own book in print.

We receive queries such as, "I am writing an autobiography on my life as a hard of hearing person? Do you want to publish it?"

The answer is, "We don't know. You haven't told us enough to convince us that we want to read your book."

Here's What We Need to Know

Did you know that fewer than 1% of the manuscripts submitted ever get published? Most manuscripts don't make the grade. Some are poorly written. Others don't say anything new. Still others don't have any clear target audience.

In order to have your manuscript considered, you first need to convince me that your book proposal is a worthy subject and that people will want to read it.

Thus you need to articulate clear, concise answers to the following questions (which also proves to us that you really know how to write).

1. Who exactly is your audience? In other words, who is going to spend their valuable dollars to buy and read your book? For example, for a book related to hearing loss, is your target market academic, or hard of hearing people, or those that come in contact with hard of hearing people, or people who have a specific hearing problem such as Meniere's Disease, or who exactly?

2. How is your book different from all books already published on that subject. Will your book be unique? Will it fill a gap in the subject matter, or is it just a rehash of books currently available?

3. How big is your target audience? Will enough people want to buy your book to make it profitable for us to publish it? Have you researched it to know? For example, there are in excess of 32 million hard of hearing people in the USA. That looks like a fair sized target audience. However, research suggests that 6 out of 7 hard of hearing people either deny they have a hearing loss or won't do anything about it—including buying your book. So how big is your real audience?

4. Why are you writing the book? To see your name in print? To make lots of money? (Most writers don't make much at all.) To get out a message that you think is vitally important, whether there is a big market for it or not? To entertain people? To help people cope with their specific hearing problem? Etc.
 

In short, you need to convince us that we want to, nay, need to, read/publish your book. So convince us.

As a reader, why would I want to read your book? What's in it for me (as a reader)? Will I learn something that will help me with my own hearing loss? Will its humor have me rolling on the carpet? Will it inspire me to change my life somehow? How is your book different from the hundreds of books relating to hearing loss already on the market?

When you have good answers to all the above questions, contact us. Send us an email with the answers to these questions clearly articulated. (It wouldn't hurt to attach one sample chapter that shows your best writing style.) When you do this, we'll listen.